| Dear Reader, Last month, I mentioned that this year, there are two things I am intensely focused on: 1. Cutting: Pruning the excess so that I can grow vertically instead of horizontally. 2. Bridging the Gap: Focusing on the space between “knowing” and “doing.” I covered the first point in my last email. Today, let me touch on the second. I know!… but I don’t do. I know regular exercise is important, but I have not done it in over three months. I even paid for a gym membership, went for two or three sessions, and haven’t shown up again. In my first book, What I Learnt Late – 52 Life Lessons, I wrote in chapter 21 that I was going to learn how to swim. That was in 2022. I bought swimming goggles, a towel, and shorts, and I signed up for swimming lessons. I have not been back to the pool since. I could go on and give you a book load of other examples. It’s not just me. I see it everywhere. People like myself who know better, but don’t do better. People with brilliant ideas, big dreams, and thoughtful plans, but very little follow-through. I have wondered, how can that be? How can we spend years learning, thinking, preparing, and still never move? Let me tell you what I’ve discovered. Because that gap between knowing and doing is where most dreams die. The Gap. This gap is the difference between who you are and who you could become. And, the problem is not a lack of knowledge. You can go online right now and find a hundred books on money, health, relationships, or time management. The real problem is that knowing has become a substitute for doing. We feel good because we read a chapter, watched a video, or listened to a podcast. For a brief moment, we get the emotional reward that normally comes from taking action, without actually doing anything. It is like reading about push-ups and feeling like you worked out. You didn’t. But your brain got just enough stimulation to think you did. You see, knowledge without action is deceptive. It creates the illusion of progress. You feel like you’re growing, but you’re not. You’re collecting insight, but insight alone doesn’t change your reality. Motion vs. Progress You don’t get credit for what you know. The world rewards you for what you do, what you deliver, and what you follow through on. That is why someone with less knowledge but more discipline will always outperform the person with great knowledge but zero consistent action. The most dangerous place to be is thinking you’re making progress when you’re really just circling the runway. You keep reading. You keep planning. You keep preparing. But you never take off. You never get airborne. Why? Because motion is not progress. Learning is not growth. Thinking is not building. Only action crosses that line. Knowing is the easy part. Doing is where the work begins. That’s where the resistance shows up, where excuses start to creep in, and where you find out if you’re serious or just interested. Two Big Questions For You 1. Ask yourself, what do you already know that you still haven’t done? What habit have you studied, talked about, and written down, but not practised? That is your gap. That is the difference between staying where you are and stepping into what’s next. 2. If we already know what to do, why don’t we do it? Hit reply and share your thoughts on this second question with me. I read every email, and I will share my own answer to this in my next message. Opportunity Corner 1. Fondation Nexans Call for Sustainable and Inclusive Energy Projects (€10,000 to €40,000) 2. Moonshots for Development Open Innovation Challenge 2026 (US$360,000) 3. UNICEF Venture Fund – Open Call for Startups in Emerging Markets My Writing Desk I am still posting daily pages of the story of The Golden Boy – Kwesi Dankwa as he navigates office politics, ambition, romance, and betrayal on my Blog, WhatsApp Channel, LinkedIn, or Facebook. As always, Albert, Author of: Breaking Free From Debt The Journey Within Before You Quit Your Job What I Learnt Late |
